The Maryland FAMLI contribution rate for 2027 is 0.9 percent of covered wages up to the Social Security wage base, split evenly between employer and employee at 0.45 percent each, on wages paid from 1 January 2027.
This page is about Maryland FAMLI, administered by the Maryland Department of Labor, FAMLI Division. Colorado runs a separate paid leave program with the same name and different rules; nothing here applies to it.
Put your headcount and payroll in and get your own figure, per pay period and for the full year, with a printable report for your CFO.
Maryland FAMLI contributions are due on wages paid from 1 January 2027. The total rate for 2027 is 0.9 percent of covered wages. It splits evenly: 0.45 percent employer, 0.45 percent employee. Maryland Department of Labor, make contributions
The employer remits the whole 0.9 percent to the Maryland Department of Labor each quarter. Whether the employee half comes out of the employee's pay or out of the employer's own pocket is the employer's choice, made pay period by pay period. The Department only ever sees one payment.
All wages paid for qualified employment are subject to contributions up to the Social Security wage base each calendar year, per employee. COMAR 09.42.02.04A The cap is per person per year, not per employer, so an employee earning above it simply stops accruing contributions once their year-to-date Maryland wages cross the line.
The Social Security taxable maximum for 2026 is $184,500. SSA 2026 taxable maximum The Social Security Administration publishes the 2027 figure in October 2026, and every number on this site changes the day it lands. Until then the calculator uses the 2026 cap as a stand-in and says so on the page.
Independent contractors are not employees for this purpose and their payments are not subject to contributions.
The Secretary of Labor sets the rate. The statute caps it at 1.2 percent of wages and requires the rate for each later year to be set by 1 November of the preceding year. LE 8.3-601 So the 2028 rate is due by 1 November 2027, and it can be higher than 0.9 percent, up to that 1.2 percent ceiling. Nobody can tell you the 2028 number yet, and any page that does is guessing.
An employer may withhold from an employee's pay up to 50 percent of the total rate of contribution. COMAR 09.42.02.05B That is the 0.45 percent employee half, and it is a ceiling, not a requirement. An employer may withhold less, or nothing at all, and fund the difference itself.
The trap is in what happens if you simply do not get round to it:
“If an employer fails to make the proper deduction from an employee's pay, that employer is considered to have elected to pay the employee's portion for each pay period the employer fails to make the deduction.” COMAR 09.42.02.07A
That is not a fine. It is a deemed election, and it is per pay period. You cannot recover the missed amount out of a later pay cycle. For a 40-person employer on a $3.2m Maryland payroll that is $1,200.00 every month it runs, and $14,400.00 across a full year.
| Employees working in Maryland | 12 |
|---|---|
| Total employees under one EIN | 12 |
| Annual Maryland payroll | $780,000 |
| Payroll frequency | Every two weeks |
| Band | Small employer, under 15 |
|---|---|
| Rate applied | 0.45% |
| Employer share, full year 2027 | $0.00 |
| Employee share, full year 2027 | $3,510.00 |
| Total, full year 2027 | $3,510.00 |
| Per pay period, total | $135.00 |
| First payment, Q1 wages, due 30 April 2027 | $877.50 |
Computed by famliclock.com from the published 2027 rate of 0.9 percent and the 2026 Social Security taxable maximum of $184,500, on 21 September 2026. Wages are assumed to be spread evenly across the headcount, which produces the largest figure the employer could owe. These are estimates, not a filing.
| Employees working in Maryland | 40 |
|---|---|
| Total employees under one EIN | 40 |
| Annual Maryland payroll | $3,200,000 |
| Payroll frequency | Monthly |
| Band | Standard, 15 or more |
|---|---|
| Rate applied | 0.90% |
| Employer share, full year 2027 | $14,400.00 |
| Employee share, full year 2027 | $14,400.00 |
| Total, full year 2027 | $28,800.00 |
| Per pay period, total | $2,400.00 |
| Cost of absorbing the employee half instead | $14,400.00 more a year |
| First payment, Q1 wages, due 30 April 2027 | $7,200.00 |
Computed by famliclock.com from the published 2027 rate of 0.9 percent and the 2026 Social Security taxable maximum of $184,500, on 21 September 2026. Wages are assumed to be spread evenly across the headcount, which produces the largest figure the employer could owe. These are estimates, not a filing.
0.9 percent of covered wages, split evenly at 0.45 percent each. It applies to wages paid from 1 January 2027, up to the Social Security wage base per employee per year.
Yes. Wages count only up to the Social Security wage base each calendar year, per employee. The 2026 figure is $184,500; SSA publishes the 2027 figure in October 2026.
Yes. The Secretary of Labor sets it and the statute caps it at 1.2 percent. Each later year's rate must be set by 1 November of the preceding year, so the 2028 rate is due by 1 November 2027.
No. Withholding up to half the total rate is permitted, not required. But an employer that fails to make the deduction is considered to have elected to pay the employee's portion for each pay period it missed, and cannot recover it later.
Rates and dates last verified against these sources on 21 September 2026. Where this page and the Maryland Department of Labor disagree, the Department is right and this page is wrong; tell us at hello@02launch.com and a dedicated engineer fixes it within 6 hours.
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